Initial step in launch of future energy institute led by ���سԹ�

By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – Longtime Tri-Citian Bob Ferguson, who served as the first deputy assistant secretary of nuclear programs for the , made a $500,000 gift to support Washington State University Tri-Cities’ first endowed faculty position in energy and environment.

The position represents the initial step in the development of a future institute at ���سԹ�. The institute will be dedicated to understanding and shaping the region’s diverse energy resources, and will directly leverage WSU’s research strengths in water resources, environment, agriculture, policy and economics.

“The professorship and institute will focus on partnerships for research in the energy industry, fostering community discussions and relationships for policy development at the state and national levels, and developing curriculum to support future workforce needs across various energy sectors,” ���سԹ� Chancellor Sandra Haynes said. “We are incredibly grateful to Bob for his generous gift and its vast potential impacts for the Tri-Cities region and Washington state as a whole.”

Ferguson said the Tri-Cities region is already a leader in the energy sector, contributing de-carbonized power through nuclear, solar, wind, hydropower, and biofuels. To build on this foundational strength, Ferguson wanted to provide a substantial gift to launch ���سԹ�’ first endowed faculty position, and encourages others to join in donating to the effort.

“This institute would solidify the Tri-Cities as a hub, probably the first one, ever, that can link all of these energy sources, from basic research to full demonstration,” he said. “Energy is the source of all economic development. We need a curriculum. We need a workforce for the future. ���سԹ� is uniquely positioned to integrate all these areas. WSU could lead this effort for the state and the nation.”

Established foundation in energy

Ferguson’s storied career in nuclear energy began in 1957 at , where he trained and worked as a reactor physicist and reactor operations supervisor at the B Reactor – the world’s first large-scale nuclear reactor, located in the Tri-Cities. He worked his way up to the position of deputy assistant secretary of nuclear programs for the U.S. Department of Energy before making his way back to the Tri-Cities to serve as CEO for the Washington Public Power Supply System — now called .

Ferguson was actively involved in early discussions for the expansion of the Tri-Cities campus into a fully-fledged WSU campus. The campus began in the 1940s as the General Electric School of Nuclear Engineering, where it offered graduate-level programs for those working out at the Hanford Nuclear Site. In 1989, it became a WSU campus, first serving upper-level undergraduate and graduate programs and now offering full four-year bachelor’s and graduate programs in a range of fields.

“This gift is a culmination of the vision we had when we established ���سԹ� here,” Ferguson said. “This is a way to support research that WSU is doing now, as well as investing in what it could be doing in the future.”

WSU President Kirk Schulz said leveraging what each WSU campus does best — by utilizing local assets, such as the unique location and surrounding community of each campus — is the most effective way to deliver on WSU’s land-grant mission and provide optimal service to the state.

“For Tri-Cities, the clear differentiator is the confluence of nuclear, solar, hydro, biofuels, and wind power,” he said. “Bob’s gift will help transform ���سԹ� into an energy headquarters for our entire state and region.”

Because WSU is a Carnegie Research 1 university and because of its existing relationship with the through its joint nuclear, biofuels, and power grid institutes, the Ferguson gift will be a major boost for energy-related research at WSU, said Christopher Keane, WSU vice president for research.

“Bob’s gift will advance ���سԹ� research capabilities, the university’s capabilities in energy systems and WSU’s collaboration with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,” he said.

Continuing momentum with future investment

Ferguson’s gift launches an effort to raise $2 million in additional funding to fully support the endowed faculty position. The campus plans to conduct a nationwide search for the position in fall 2022.

“The lead commitment for this faculty position is an important milestone,” said Mike Connell, acting vice president and CEO of the . “Through this generous investment, Bob will inspire other individuals and industry partners to get involved and fuel an energy research hub that will have both a regional and national impact.”

Mike Wolcott, WSU associate vice president for research, said Ferguson’s reputation brings a level of prestige to WSU’s mission and will be instrumental in attracting the best talent to the region for the position and the program.

“Expanding on this foundational vision will allow us to have a greater impact on the future of our energy systems and the economic development that will be associated with its build-out,” Wolcott said. “WSU has tremendous breadth and depth to offer in many facets of energy-related topics.”

Regional legislators are also excited about the potential for the professorship and a nationally-recognized energy institute.

“Bob Ferguson’s leadership and generosity is remarkable and makes me proud to be a Tri-Citian,” said Washington state Rep. Matt Boehnke. “I can’t wait to see the research and ingenuity that comes out of the energy systems institute, as well as the leaders that are developed as a result of the new professorship.”

For more information in supporting the professorship and future institute, contact Jaime Heppler, ���سԹ� senior director of development, at 509-372-7207 or Jaime.heppler@wsu.edu.

 

Media contacts:

Jaime Heppler, ���سԹ� senior director of development, 509-372-7207, Jaime.heppler@wsu.edu

Maegan Murray, ���سԹ� director of marketing and communication, 619-403-3617 (cell), Maegan_murray@wsu.edu

RICHLAND, Wash. – A professor with the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory at Washington State University Tri-Cities is developing a way to drastically improve energy production at small waste water treatment plants. The research has the potential to be scaled globally.

Birgitte Ahring, professor of biological systems engineering and chemical engineering, received a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the project. She is partnering locally with the Walla Walla Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Clean-Vantage, LLC.

Sewage sludge is a remnant semi-solid material produced at sewage treatment plants. Ahring said while a portion of sludge is converted into biogas, at a mixture of 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide at the majority of wastewater treatment facilities in the U.S., there still remains a significant portion of the waste to be disposed.

Ahring said converting a larger fraction of sewage sludge into useful energy will reduce the need for landfilling of the material and reduce the carbon footprint of wastewater treatment plants, worldwide.

New, more effective process

Ahring said many waste water treatment plants currently use a process called anaerobic digestion, which uses microorganisms that don’t require oxygen, to essentially digest some of the sludge material and to convert the organic material into biogas. Due to the nature of sewage sludge, part of the organic material will, however, be resistant to digestion using the process.

Ahring said a much higher amount of biogas can be produced by applying a specialized upfront pretreatment process using heat and oxygen-based agents before the anaerobic digestion process. In a final process step, she said the biogas can be further upgraded to pure methane, which can be used as a bio-natural gas. Methane gas can be used by an assortment of transportation industries, and thereby as a substitution for diesel and gasoline as a renewable fuel.

Together, the integrated new process has been named the “Advanced Pretreatment/Anaerobic digestion technology.”

“Many of these plants, like the one in Walla Walla, produce biogas by anaerobic digestion, but the low efficiency means that the amount of biogas is too low for organized use of this fraction,” Ahring said. “What DOE was calling for was a rethinking of the way we process sewage sludge today, so that the process becomes far more efficient and economically viable.”

Currently, 40 to 50% of the carbon in sewage sludge is converted in the biogas process, Ahring said. With the new process, the team estimates they can improve carbon conversion efficiency by more than 50% from the current level. With the biogas upgrading, the overall methane yield is expected to increase by more than 100% compared to what is currently produced at wastewater treatment plants.

Upscaling the project for use globally

Ahring said once the new process has been demonstrated in pilot scale through a BSEL-based pilot facility, the process will be ready for upscaling at small plants, such as the Walla Walla Wastewater Treatment Plant. From there, the process will be ready to disseminate broadly in the U.S. and even globally, she said.

Ahring said partner Clean-Vantage, LLC, has worked on the specialized pretreatment for years, and has successfully licensed the process overseas for other applications. With the new technique for upgrading the biogas to pure methane being developed at WSU, the overall concept will enhance the potential for sewage sludge as a raw material for renewable energy production.

Ahring is working with colleagues at PNNL to produce the technical economics for upscaling and a disposal cost model, which will detail the actual cost of the project at wastewater treatment plants based on size. The model will also detail how many extra dollars will be profited with the additional energy production at wastewater treatment plants.

“With this project, we can show we can produce a high-value product while reducing the amount of sludge needing final disposal,” she said. “We are getting rid of a waste problem and turning it into a useable product. Other cities can then take this model and implement it in their own areas. I am confident we will make it work. All of us involved on the project have a lot of expertise in this area, and we have previous experience in working together.”

Media contacts:

• Birgitte Ahring, ���سԹ� professor of biological systems engineering and chemical engineering, 509-372-7682, bka@wsu.edu
• Maegan Murray, ���سԹ� director of marketing and communication, 619-403-3617 (cell), maegan_murray@wsu.edu

By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – A Washington State University Tri-Cities researcher is producing and testing a group of hydrocarbon molecules made from lignin, a waste material from biofuel production, as a new biojet fuel that could replace petroleum-based fuels and lead to greater performance and reduced emissions.

Bin Yang, associate professor of biological systems engineering with the Tri-Cities-based Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory, is working with colleagues from the University of Dayton, Phonon Energy, Inc., Polykala Technologies LLC, and Mercurious Biorefining, Inc, on the project. The team recently received a  to conduct first-round testing on viability of molecules known as mono-, di- and tricycloparaffins, which they can source from lignin.

Lignin is a group of polymers that give plants their rigidity, and are a common wood byproduct in the biofuel creation process.

Initial testing of specific lignin molecules has shown their potential to meet high-performance characteristics for jet engines, while providing a higher fuel density that could help planes fly farther on less fuel.

This research, published in the journal , could result in high-efficiency jet fuel with favorable energy content, energy density, low emissions rates, and high-performance characteristics, meeting drop-in specifications immediately for jet aircraft.

“Reduction of emissions is critical for the future of the aviation industry,” Yang said. “With the testing of these molecules, we not only show increased efficiency, but also decreased emissions. We are now working on the hard data to support these findings.”

One of the challenges in making the switch to bio-based fuels is that biofuels are often more expensive compared to petroleum-based sources, driving up the cost of jet fuel, Yang said.

However, lignin-based jet fuel is different from existing petroleum-based jet fuel in structure, function, and performance. It could offer novel functionality and improved performance as the fuel of a sustainable future.

Over the next year, Yang and his team will test the three variations of the molecules to identify which is the most efficient and practical for a completely bio-based jet fuel.

“In the end, I expect to have a formula that will meet requirements for jet fuel,” Yang said. “With additional resources, we can continue the tests and potentially develop a fuel that ushers in the future of sustainable air travel.”

By Scott Weybright, WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences

RICHLAND, Wash. – A research group led by Washington State University Tri-Cities scientists has found a way to turn daily plastic waste products into jet fuel.

In a new paper published in the journal , WSU’s Hanwu Lei and colleagues melted plastic waste at high temperature with activated carbon, a processed carbon with increased surface area, to produce jet fuel.

“Waste plastic is a huge problem worldwide,” said Lei, an associate professor in . “This is a very good, and relatively simple, way to recycle these plastics.”

How it works

In the experiment, Lei and colleagues tested low-density polyethylene and mixed a variety of waste plastic products, like water bottles, milk bottles, and plastic bags, and ground them down to around three millimeters, or about the size of a grain of rice.

The plastic granules were then placed on top of activated carbon in a tube reactor at a high temperature, ranging from 430 degree Celsius to 571 degrees Celsius. That’s 806 to 1,060 degrees Fahrenheit. The carbon is a catalyst, or a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without being consumed by the reaction.

“Plastic is hard to break down,” Lei said. “You have to add a catalyst to help break the chemical bonds. There is a lot of hydrogen in plastics, which is a key component in fuel.”

Once the carbon catalyst has done its work, it can be separated out and re-used on the next batch of waste plastic conversion. The catalyst can also be regenerated after losing its activity.

After testing several different catalysts at different temperatures, the best result they had produced a mixture of 85 percent jet fuel and 15 percent diesel fuel.

Environmental impact

According to the , landfills in the U.S. received 26 million tons of plastic in 2015, the most recent year statistics are available. China has recently stopped accepting plastic recycling from the U.S. and Canada. Conservative estimates by scientists say that at least 4.8 million tons of plastic enters the ocean each year worldwide.

Not only would this new process reduce that waste, very little of what is produced is wasted.

“We can recover almost 100 percent of the energy from the plastic we tested,” Lei said. “The fuel is very good quality, and the byproduct gasses produced are high quality and useful as well.”

He also said the method for this process is easily scalable. It could work at a large facility or even on farms, where farmers could turn plastic waste into diesel.

“You have to separate the resulting product to get jet fuel,” Lei said. “If you don’t separate it, then it’s all diesel fuel.”

This work was funded by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2014-38502-22598, 2016-67021-24533, 2018-67009-27904 from the , .

Washington State University Tri-Cities is the home of the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory, a state-of-the-art research facility operated in partnership with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The facility establishes the Tri-Cities as a center for world-class bio-based product research and development.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Fulbright scholar Fitria is using her educational experience at and the to find new and improved ways of creating successful biofuels and bioproducts.

In her home country of Indonesia, Fitria, who goes by one name, is a team member and former project leader in biomass process technology and bioremediation at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences Research Center for Biomaterials.

There, she works to convert lignocellulosic biomass—the cellulose and lignin-rich substances that give plants their rigidity—from agricultural residues to ethanol and other bioproducts such as wood adhesives, biocomposites, pulp, and paper.

In recent years, the Indonesian government has focused more heavily on the production of biofuels. And while ethanol, which in Indonesia is mostly made from cassava, a starchy root from a tropical crop, is readily available, they are exploring other options, especially lignocellulosic-based biomass from local vegetation. Cellulose from the remains of pressed, harvested oil palm fruit bunches could be a viable option, as Indonesia is the largest producer. Other potential products include rice straw and sugar cane bagasse.

In order to fulfill her career goals, Fitria joined a team led by Bin Yang, associate professor of biological systems engineering at ���سԹ�, in August 2016. Over the past three years, she has worked in the at ���سԹ� to improve the understanding of fundamental mechanisms of pretreatment technologies for cellulosic-based fuels. Her work helps advance cutting–edge biomass conversion technologies and to facilitate the commercialization process.

At ���سԹ�, she is studying several types of lignocellulose biomass, such as corn stover and wheat straw, which are among the most common agricultural waste products in the U.S.

“Wheat straw is abundant in eastern Washington,” she said. “The remnant material in the harvesting process is usually left on the field, and about 60 percent is used for ground cover. But you can’t remove all of the residue on the field. We want to use the remaining material to make biofuels.”

Fitria is specifically examining how to improve the pretreatment process in turning remnant lignocellulosic materials into biofuels with Yang.

In the early stages, cellulose, which is the main component of cell walls in plants, must undergo a pretreatment process to separate it from other major components, hemicellulose and lignin, to help enzymes convert it to sugar. After that, it is fermented into ethanol. Other components in plants, such as mineral components, however, might hinder this process, which she is now investigating.

Fitria is also working with Jian Liu, a senior chemical engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to study the impact that mineral components have on the pretreatment process. She will also start as part of the this fall. This WSU-PNNL collaboration not only aids in her doctoral study, but also provides her with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory.

“Working at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will be very important to her future research career,” Yang said. “Fitria has displayed remarkable skill in science, engineering and leadership, and she will continue to grow and make significant contributions to the field of biomass to bioproducts.”

Fitria’s research at ���سԹ� is in line with WSU’s identified of providing and in . It is also in line with WSU’s .

By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

Bin Yang, an associate professor of biological systems engineering at Washington State University Tri-Cities, has been selected for the Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award — the most prestigious appointment in the Fulbright Scholar Program.

Fulbright currently awards approximately 8,000 grants annually. Of those, 40 are selected for the Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award.  marks the first professor in WSU history to be selected for the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Energy and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Award.

Beginning in August, he will serve for six months through the Fulbright program at , while on sabbatical leave from WSU. While in Finland, he will teach and conduct research. In addition, he will continue to manage his research team at WSU.

His research at Aalto University will focus on the development of novel lignin-based compounds that do not resemble an existing petroleum-derived compound in structure. Lignin is a material comprised in the cell wall of plants and is one of the largest waste products in the bioproducts industry because it is so hard to break down and process. Yang, however, aims to use the material to create a range of bioproducts.

Yang said he is elated to expand his research and to communicate the scientific achievements of WSU’s Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory (BSEL) in the bioproducts sector, learn more about bioproducts research achievements and processes in Europe, as well as learn about the Finland’s educational structure, which is a world leader.

“I’m excited about the dialogue between our two universities and two countries,” he said. “I believe this outcome will allow me to work with professors and students at Aalto University in order to apply my expertise in bioproducts and biofuels technologies. I am grateful that both Aalto University and WSU are willing and able to accommodate this desire so graciously, and I believe it will work to everyone’s best interests.”

Juming Tang, chair of the biological systems engineering department at WSU, said Yang is an outstanding contributor for the graduate program of biological systems engineering, which is ranked 14^th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.

“Fulbright support will further increase the visibility of our department, BSEL and WSU,” Tang said.

As a Fulbright chair, Yang will address two key challenges:

• Developing breakthroughs in science and technologies for production of high-value bioproducts from biomass.
• Fostering next-generation leaders on the opportunities, challenges and benefits of biofuels and bioproducts.

Yang has served as a faculty member at WSU since 2009. He has dedicated most of his career to the development of renewable energy technologies, with particular emphasis on production of biofuels and bioproducts from cellulosic biomass feedstocks and other sustainable resources. His major research interests include:

• Understanding fundamental mechanisms of bioprocessing technologies for advanced biofuels.
• Advancing cutting-edge technologies and facilitating the commercialization process.
• Improving knowledge of emerging technologies to meet near- and long-term needs worldwide.

He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters and has five patents. He is a recipient of the DARPA Young Faculty Award of 2011. He also serves as an advisory editor board member for many leading biorefinery journals.

Yang’s research has been supported by the:

• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (U.S. Department of Defense).
• U.S. Department of Energy.
• National Science Foundation.
• Sun Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
• Seattle-based Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation.

He has a joint appointment with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He also serves as a faculty senator and an entrepreneurial faculty ambassador at ���سԹ�.

By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – Efforts to create an environmentally friendly catalyst that will lower the cost and increase the efficiency in producing bio-based jet fuels has netted Washington State University researchers a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

���سԹ� associate professor Hanwu Lei and his research team aim to develop the catalyst — a substance that increases the rate of chemical reactions and lowers the energy needed to perform the reaction — from forestry and agricultural waste products.

This is the second major research grant that Lei, an associate professor of biological systems engineering with the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory, has received from the USDA and National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

�ճ���� for $494,000 was awarded in August 2015 to develop a different type of biomass-derived catalysts. Once developed, these catalysts will be used to increase the energy output and performance of biofuels. These catalysts will produce aromatic hydrocarbons, which are high-energy organic compounds that largely are responsible for the octane number, or performance rating, of a fuel.

“To reduce energy and hydrogen demands, and improve the catalytic performance of bio-jet fuel production, we proposed a new catalyst design that we could leverage from environmentally friendly, nature-based molecules,” Lei said. “These rod-like nanocrystals can be sourced from any agroforestry waste.”

Under the new grant, Lei and his team will use enzymes to produce nanocrystalline cellulose. These ‘green catalysts’ will be created from wastes such as corn stover, a remnant of corn harvest, or sawdust from Douglas fir trees. With funding from the second grant, the new nano carbon catalyst will further convert the aromatic hydrocarbons researched with the first grant to cycloalkane naphtha, a major component in jet fuels.

Lei said their project is transformative for the biofuels industry in two ways:

• It’s a new and innovative idea that can be used to produce bio-jet fuel using less energy and hydrogen compared to current production processes
• By using cutting-edge processes, the team is applying new knowledge and approaches to solve challenges in state-of-the-art nanocrystalline cellulose extraction

“The new process provides another novel pathway for conversion of biomass into advanced biofuels and jet fuels,” he said.

Contacts:

• Hanwu Lei, associate professor in the WSU department of Biological Systems Engineering and Bioproducts, Science and Engineering Laboratory, 509-372-7628, hlei@wsu.edu
• Maegan Murray, ���سԹ� public relations specialist, 509-372-7333, maegan_murray@wsu.edu

By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – ���سԹ� associate professor Xiao Zhang is targeting the use of lignin — a common material that makes the cell walls of plants rigid — to create affordable biofuels and bioproducts.

Interested in the project, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has granted , an associate professor in WSU’s Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory, $500,000 to complete the research. The laboratory is part of the university’s .

The project will be conducted in partnership with Xuejun Pan, a professor in the department of biological systems engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Lignin is one of the largest renewable carbon sources on Earth. It allows trees to stand, gives vegetables their firmness and makes up about 20-35 percent of the weight of wood. It also is one of the largest remnant products left over in the biofuels creation process.

Zhang and his team will investigate new conversion pathways to produce chemicals and biofuels without completely breaking down lignin into monomers — molecules that can be synthesized into polymers. In addition to its potential cost savings, the process could maximize carbon utilization in the biofuels creation process. It would also provide a profitable use for a waste product.

“We aim at converting lignin into a skeleton that has a similar carbon length in jet fuel range,” Zhang said. “The uniqueness is really targeting a more cost-effective process in taking advantage of the basic lignin structure of characteristics. Unlike many other processes, we don’t have to break down the lignin completely to its monomers.”

Contacts:

• Xiao Zhang, WSU Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory associate professor of the Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, 509-372-7647, zhang@wsu.edu

By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – A method of converting a biofuel waste product into a usable and valuable commodity has been discovered by researchers at Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Converting algae to biofuels is a two-step process. The first, developed by , applies high pressure and high temperature to algae to create bio oil. The second converts that bio oil into biofuel, which can replace gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

It’s that first step, called hydrothermal liquefaction, that produces waste — approximately 25 to 40 percent of carbon and 80 percent of nutrients from the algae are left behind in wastewater streams.

Bionatural gas and fertilizer

The wastewater is generally hard to process because it contains a variety of different chemicals in small concentrations, said Birgitte K. Ahring, professor at ���سԹ�’ Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory. But Ahring and her team have found that adapting anaerobic microbes — microbes that live without oxygen — to break down the remaining residue is a viable option. Through this process, the material becomes degradable and gets transformed into a bionatural gas without the use of harsh chemicals. The solid material that remains can also be applied as a fertilizer or recycled back into the hydrothermal liquefaction process for further use.

The results of the team’s research are published this month in . The team also consists of:

• Keerthi Srinivas, WSU postdoctoral research associate
• Sebastian Fernandez, WSU research assistant
• Andrew Schmidt, of PNNL’s chemical and biological processes development group
• Marie Swita, of PNNL’s chemical and biological processes development group

Don’t waste waste

“It has always been my mantra that we shouldn’t waste waste,” Ahring said. “We had an idea that we could turn this waste product into something useful, such as a fertilizer. Our findings revealed that we could use this waste product as something much more.”

The ability to convert a waste product into a usable commodity provides algal biorefineries with a solution to a large problem, Ahring said.

“After removing the solids, about 10 percent of the output is bio oil, with the remaining 90 percent being a waste byproduct,” Schmidt said. “The fact that we’ve developed an alternative method to recycle or treat the leftover material means it’s more economical to produce the bio oil, making the potential for commercial use of the process more likely.”

Sewage sludge and wastewater

Ahring said the team’s results were so promising that they are now partnering with PNNL on its conversion of sewage sludge to fuel using a similar strategy for the wastewater.

“Today, sewage sludge is found throughout the world,” Ahring said. “Creating a process to produce biofuels, bio-natural gas, and nutrients from this material would be of major importance. The current study has demonstrated that nothing should ever be regarded as a waste, but instead as a resource.”

Schmidt said PNNL’s partnership with WSU allowed each team to focus on different aspects of the biomass conversion.  The collaboration is further enhanced by the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory, a facility PNNL and WSU built together on the ���سԹ� campus nearly a decade ago.

“PNNL and WSU researchers interacted frequently on the project,” said Schmidt.   “While PNNL engineers focused on converting the algae to bio oil, the WSU team was able to delve deeply into fundamental research of wastewater conversion with microbes, which included taking advantage of unique analytical capabilities on the PNNL campus.”

A WSU alumnus himself, receiving both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from WSU, Schmidt said he’s excited to team on additional programs and projects aligned with goals to grow the collaboration between PNNL and WSU.

 

Contacts:

• Birgitte Ahring, WSU Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory, 509-372-7682, bka@tricity.wsu.edu
• Maegan Murray, ���سԹ� marketing and communication, 509-372-7333, Maegan.murray@tricity.wsu.edu